In process of amending Arms Act: Centre to HC

The Centre on Wednesday told the Delhi High Court that it is in the process of amending the Arms Act to provide "severe punishment" for illegal licensing and possession of firearms. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) also submitted that by way of a 2012 notification it has made it mandatory that unique identification numbers (UIN) be issued for every fresh arms licence as well as those being renewed.

Without the UIN, no arms licence shall be considered valid with effect from October 1, 2015, the ministry said .